WE live in a more affluent society, yet the gap between the rich and the poor is wider than ever.

WE live in a more affluent society, yet the gap between the rich and the poor is wider than ever.

Today 39% of the people questioned say they are comfortable, compared to 24% in 1983, whereas 16% find it difficult to manage on their income compared to 26% two decades ago.

Yet the rich and poor have never been so far apart: the poorest 10% of the population now receives 3% of the country's total income, whereas the richest 10% receive more than a quarter.

But this inequality has not gone unnoticed and people have always believed the gap is too large, with most people feeling the gap is twice as large as it should be.

But, when asked for a solution to the problem, most people favoured a dramatic lowering of salaries for the higher income earners and not a large increase for those on lower incomes.

But Brian Morgan, of Cardiff Business School, explained that the chances of doing this with any success are slim.

"You have to build in the right level of incentives to make everybody richer and those incentives unfortunately mean that those who start off with the most, end up earning a lot more than the less advantaged. If you try and minimise the differential you end up with fewer opportunities for the less well off."

Mr Morgan explained that the least well off would benefit more if everyone becomes richer, rather than trying to redistribute the wealth to them.

"It is to some extent to be regretted that the differentials have increased and the gap between the rich and poor has increased but as long as you have the right safety nets for the poor in terms of the health and social services, this gap is something you will have to live with."